Bachelor of Science in News & Information

at Shorelight Group - University of Kansas USA

The study of economics offers students insight into some of the most fundamental questions facing societies today: what goods and services should we produce? How should we produce them ? How should we distribute them? Economics offers an outstanding preparation for careers in policy analysis, international relations, business, and other careers that require rigorous analytic thinking. Economics also makes an excellent foundation for graduate study in economics, business, law, political science, or public administration.

The department offers a broad range of courses that provide a basic understanding of human language and communication. Linguistics courses examine features of language that underlie the human capacity to express concepts and communicate ideas. The courses address the connections between language, brain, culture, mind, and history. The major gives students a basic understanding of the human capacity to acquire, perceive, and produce language and of language’s role in contemporary society.

Linguistics is a superb preparation for careers that require expertise in the use of language as a means of communication, e.g., business, communications, personnel administration, teaching, health care, and social service. Many majors pursue graduate study in education, law, psychology, computer science, speech and hearing sciences and languages.

The Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology provides students with a broad understanding of biological systems at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels. The MCDB degree includes study of genetics, cell biology, developmental biology, cancer biology, and neurobiology. Students have the option of elective courses in these areas for an advanced, in-depth learning experience.

The B.A. in dance offers comprehensive technical training built on a solid liberal arts foundation, allowing our students to double-major or pursue graduate study in a wide number of fields.

The Department does NOT require an audition for entry into the Dance B.A. program. Incoming or transfer students may declare a dance major when they apply or enroll.  At the end of the sophomore year, students will undergo a Sophomore Review (PDF), an evaluation of their academic progress and artistic growth within the program. If a student is in good standing at the end of their sophomore year, they may continue in the B.A. program. If a student transfers into our program after the sophomore year, he or she will be evaluated at the end of the first year of attendance.

Chinese
In a few short weeks, CHIN 104: Elementary Chinese language students know their four tones and can speak beautifully about basic topics of daily life. Learning characters, the challenging but fun aspect of Chinese, starts slowly the first year, then accelerates the second and third years of study. Advanced-level students from KU can read newspapers and contemporary fiction by the time they graduate; graduating majors are fluent in Chinese.

Japanese
Often considered the "Gateway to the East," Japan is a center for commerce, trade, education, and culture in East Asia. KU alums with Japanese language skills have followed career paths such as acting for Japanese television, banking in Tokyo, and working as a legal expert for Microsoft, as well as many who pursued graduate work in Japanese culture and history. Beyond the practical advantages, studying Japanese possesses its own intrinsic rewards: learning one of the world's most complex languages exercises the mind in unique ways. Japanese language students are never bored!

Korean
Although Korean has been a spoken language for several thousand years, the development of its phonetic alphabet in 1446, hangul, made it the easiest East Asian language to master. Today Korean is the 11th most spoken language in the world. More than half of Korean's vocabulary can be traced to Chinese, and the structure and grammar are similar to Japanese. KU is the only institution in Kansas that teaches intermediate and advanced Korean language courses.

A bachelor’s degree in law and society provides undergraduate students with a strong background in how law works in practice in public administration, courts, the non-profit sector, policy, policing, and the justice system. Students learn about legal history and legal policy, how law shapes managerial processes, how it shapes government and the system of justice, and how it affects ordinary people in every walk of life.

Graduates of the program will be ready to work in a variety of settings, including criminal justice organizations, non-profits, policy think tanks, and political institutions. There’s significant demand for this type of degree among the region’s police departments.

The law and society program is designed for students who have earned an associate's degree or equivalent hours and are looking to complete the final two years necessary for a bachelor's degree in law and society.

In philosophy we ask big, important questions. While asking such questions is easy, answering them is difficult. Because these questions are often abstract and vague, it is necessary to use precise reasoning and analysis to clarify what exactly it is we are asking. Only then can we attempt to develop answers. For example:

• What is the morally right thing to do?
• What is the nature of the mind?
• When can we know something, rather than merely believing it?
• Do the sciences exhaust what can be known about the natural world?
• What is justice?
• What assumptions do we make when we try to answer questions like these?
• Plus many, many others...

In studying philosophy, you will learn what others have thought about life's big questions. You will also learn to challenge those views, and to develop your own thoughts in a precise, logical manner. Philosophy will help you develop critical thinking skills, enabling you to analyze the underlying logic and assumptions in arguments about a variety of topics. This is a skill that generalizes to virtually every area of life.

The classroom meets the stage in the University Theatre, a leading arts program serving the KU and Lawrence communities. KU Theatre students, faculty and professional staff work together to create up to eight fully-produced shows each year, from dramas to musicals to opera.  In our fully-equipped facilities students engage in all aspects of production onstage and backstage.  Production continues year round with the summer Kansas Repertory Theatre program.

Highly Qualified Faculty Scholars and Artists

The Theatre faculty are creative artists and researchers working in the areas of theatre technology, performance, design, dramatic literature, dramaturgy, pedagogy, as well as the historical, literary, and cultural study of theatre and performance. Our faculty include award-winning teachers and internationally recognized scholars and artists working in professional theatre and authoring books and articles.

Russian is spoken by upwards of 170 million people in Russia, a country that covers one eighth of the world's landmass and that spans eleven time zones across Europe and Asia. Russian is also widely spoken as a second language throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia, making it the fourth most widely spoken language in the world, and thus one of only six official languages of the United Nations. It is the language of some of the world's greatest scientists (including Mendeleev, creator of the periodic table of elements), musicians (including Tchaikovsky, composer of Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The 1812 Overture), and writers (including Tolstoy, author of War and Peace, and Dostoevsky, author of Crime and Punishment). Study of Russian opens up a myriad of career opportunities in fields ranging from business to diplomacy to environmental studies to technology and cultural exchange.

To study with the KU School of Music’s Theory and Composition (MTHC) Area is to engage the passions, both musical and intellectual, of six composers and scholars who have each earned national and international recognition for their contributions to the discipline.

Working with faculty in the division, you will be able to pursue a wide range of scholarly interests and musical styles. Our specialists in music theory research and teach a wide breadth of approaches on diverse subjects. In addition to critical assessment of the standard common-practice and contemporary repertoires, students have the opportunity to learn about specific fields of faculty expertise, including film music, philosophy and critical theory, rhythm and meter, and modern rock music.

Our composers in the division are also skilled teachers who can help you refine your craft and develop your unique compositional voice. Among their vast and varied portfolios, they have each made significant contributions in producing new music for a wide range of genres, including works for wind band and orchestra, opera and choral music, instrumental and vocal chamber music, music for film, and electronic music (particularly involving live performance).